Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Chronicles 4:3

"And these were [the sons of] the father of Etam: Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash; and the name of their sister was Hazzelelponi;" — 1 Chronicles 4:3 (ASV)

And these were of the father of Etam. —The Hebrew text reads, And these (were) the father of Etam. Some manuscripts, the Septuagint, and the Vulgate read “and these (were) the sons of Etam;” other manuscripts, with the Syriac and Arabic versions, have “the sons of the father of Etam.” Both variants look like evasions of a difficulty.

The unusual expression “and these—Abi-Etam” may be a brief way of stating that the clans whose names are given were the dominant houses of Etam (or Abi-Etam; compare Abiezer, Judges 7:11 and Judges 8:2). Etam is known from the history of Samson (Judges 15:8 and 2 Chronicles 11:6); Jezreel—not Ahab’s capital—from Joshua 15:56, and as the city of Ahinoam, wife of David, from 1 Chronicles 3:1. Both places were in the hill-country of Judah. The other three names are unknown.

Their sister. —Their sister-town (see 1 Chronicles 1:39 and 1 Chronicles 1:52, and Notes).

Hazelelponi. —Means “make shadow, O you who regard me!”